In October 2015, Norway approached ICES to perform a technical review of the scientific methodologies used within the various scientific disciplines in the MAREANO programme. The MAREANO programme has been running for ten years, and Norway wished to evaluate whether its implementation met the best international scientific standards.

"The general objective of MAREANO is to conduct scientifically sound and thorough baseline mapping of the Norwegian seabed ecosystems, so that MAREANO outputs can support decision-making in natural resource and ecosystem management", noted Kristian Andvord, co-Chair of WKMAR. "We expect that the advice from ICES will form a solid basis to further improve the execution of the programme. We are confident that ICES can provide us with the best scientific advice," he continued.

After the workshop the ICES review team will finalize a technical review report, taking into account the discussions and conclusions from WKMAR. On the basis of this report, the Advisory Committee (ACOM) will produce advice about operational conclusions. The advice will be released on 30 October.